Does Breastfeeding Lower Your Risk of Diabetes?

You’ve probably heard about the many benefits of breastfeeding for infants, including better digestion, strengthened immune system, and reduced risk of childhood obesity. But there’s also been some intriguing research that suggests that nursing is associated with health benefits for moms, too. Studies have shown that breastfeeding may reduce your risk of postpartum bleeding and speed up the shrinking of your uterus and weight loss after you give birth, and nursing has also been linked to a reduced risk of ovarian and breast cancer.

And now, a new noteworthy study published in JAMA Internal Medicine has found that breastfeeding may lower a woman’s risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. Researchers at Kaiser Permanente tracked 1,238 women ages 18 to 30 who didn’t have diabetes at the time of enrollment for up to 30 years. During the course of the study, each woman gave birth to at least one baby and was routinely screened for diabetes every 5 years. Researchers also conducted health exams, recorded info about participants’ lifestyle behaviors such as diet and exercise, and tracked the total amount of time they breastfed their babies.

The conclusion: There were 182 cases of diabetes among the study participants, and researchers found that nursing for up to 6 months reduced the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by 25 percent, says Erica P. Gunderson, PhD, senior research scientist with the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research. For women who breastfed for 6 months to 12 months, the risk for diabetes was cut by 48 percent, and for women who nursed for 12 months or longer, the risk was reduced by as much as 47 percent. Significantly, these findings held for both obese women and for those who’d had gestational diabetes, which are both strong risk factors for developing Type 2 diabetes.

What This Study Means for Moms

Why were the researchers interested in investigating the link between breastfeeding and diabetes in the first place? Previous research had shown that lactating women had much better metabolic profiles, says Dr. Gunderson. This means, for instance, that they had lower glucose levels. Researchers sought to find out what lasting effects nursing may have on women’s health, and whether the risk of diabetes was lowered the longer a woman breastfed, says Gunderson.

Researchers have to further examine this possible link between nursing and diabetes risk before they can fully understand the connection, but in the meantime, there are a few theories as to why breastfeeding may have an effect on diabetes risk. One is that lactating women have lower circulating glucose, and lactation may have an effect on cells that produce insulin, and as a result, affect blood sugar, says Gunderson.

For nursing moms and pregnant women who are planning to breastfeed, this finding is significant because it shows that breastfeeding may have implications for women’s long-term health, says Gunderson. “We’ve known about benefits for children and benefits for moms like better postpartum recovery and reduced cancer risk, and now, we have evidence that it may affect long-term chronic disease,” says Gunderson.

It’s another reason to consider breastfeeding for as long as you can, and, on a larger level, a reminder that we need to look at social policies that can be improved around postpartum support of moms, says Gunderson. It's especially important to make sure that moms who want to nurse have the support they need to make that happen. “Look at the postpartum periods as important for health,” says Gunderson. It’s an important time to relax, bond with your baby, and if you run into hurdles as you nurse your newborn, reach out for help.

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Katherine Lee is a former editor at Parenting and Working Mother magazines, and is the mother of a 14-year-old son. She has written and edited numerous articles and essays on parenting and children's health and development for What to Expect, Parenting, Working Mother, Wondertime, Ladies' Home Journal, EverydayHealth.com, Sprig.com and About.com.